Portrait of a Spy: A Novel

Haunted by his failure to stop a suicide bomber in London, Gabriel Allon is summoned to Washington and drawn into a confrontation with the new face of global terror. At the center of the threat is an American-born cleric in Yemen who was once a paid CIA asset.

I'm a sucker for Gabriel Allon. I cannot get enough of these books. If you feel the same way, this one won't disappoint. (I also like Vivaldi even though he wrote the same concerto a hundred times.) It's not his most "believeable" work, but then are any of them? Isn't that why we love them?

I prefer the books with ex-Nazi or Russian crime lords as antagonists, as opposed to middle eastern terrorists (too close for comfort?) but if you are hooked on this series like I am, this one will satisify.

I'm not sure how long this series can go on, though. Gabriel and gang are getting a little old for this line of work--he must be at least 60 so, how old must chain-smoking Shamron be by now?

If you are just beginning to read Daniel Silva, this is not the best one to start with... I'd recommend "The English Assasin" which is still my all-time favorite.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity is a compelling, emotionally rich story with universal themes of friendship and loyalty, heroism and bravery. Two young women from totally different backgrounds are thrown together during World War II: one a working-class girl from Manchester, the other a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a wireless operator. Yet whenever their paths cross, they complement each other perfectly and before long become devoted friends. But then a vital mission goes wrong....

I almost didn't listen to this book because I don't usually like "young adult" fiction, but I'm addicted to Foyle's War, so I thought I'd give this one a try. (As it turns out, the last Foyle episode was also about a female AOE agent.) The story was just riveting. I read a lot of books about WWII, but it's rare to find one with female protagonists. (Jackdaws, Enigma, and The All-Girl Filling Station Reunion being exceptions.)

As a retired US Air Force officer (who was stationed in the UK), I also enjoyed all the details about the aircraft & air fields and the camaraderie of the RAF and ATS. But best of all, was the friendship of the two main (female) characters.

Although the story is definitely brutal at times (as all war is), I would have loved this book as a teenager--I would have wanted to join the Air Force after reading it--but then I did that anyway!

Doctor Sleep: A Novel

Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

Where does Doctor Sleep rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best books I've listened to. Not as riveting as King's "11.22.63" (which is Stephen King's absolutely BEST book ever--and the Audible version is one of my all-time, top-10 audiobooks), but very good and worth spending the 19+ hours it took to listen to it. It's not as scary as The Shining (which scared me to death, but maybe because I'm older now, it wouldn't have the same effect on me as it did in the 70s), but it is by Stephen King so prepare yourself for some very evil characters.

What did you like best about this story?

You don't need to have read The Shining to be able to follow this book, but if you have read The Shining (seeing the movie doesn't count), you will want to find out what happened to Danny Torrance by listening to this book, that's what I liked best about this book.

Have you listened to any of Will Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to Will Patton before, but I will definitely look for other books read by him. His reading of Doctor Sleep was flawless and made for a very enjoyable listening experience.

Who was the most memorable character of Doctor Sleep and why?

Abra and her grandmother, Chetta, were the most memorable characters, however even minor characters, like Billy or Dr. John, were vital to the story. Dick Hallorann is also back and just as charming as ever.

The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity. It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

This book has been called "Dickensian" and that is a good description of this epic book. However, I found it more like "A Prayer for Owen Meany" (which is also one of my top-10 Audible books) than anything Dickens wrote.

Tartt's use of foreshadowing keeps the suspense at a level where you will have several "drive-way moments". I never found the story "slow" and could not wait to get back to this book whenever I had to turn it off.

The reader, David Pittu, really made this book come alive. The voice he uses for Boris, is just perfect and makes him more real than he would have been if I had read the book.

The Mayor of Lexington Avenue

Jack Tobin is a trial lawyer with a searing-hot reputation in Miami, far removed from his scrappy youth on the streets of New York. But when a young Florida man is railroaded into a murder conviction in the tiny Florida backwater of Bass Creek, Tobin is driven to pay back a debt to his best friend, the boy who once dubbed him ‘the Mayor of Lexington Avenue’.

I love legal dramas, the Mickey Haller series by Michael Connelly and the Ari Green series by Robert Rotenberg are the best but I also enjoy John Grisham and Scott Turow. This series, according to Booklist, is supposed to "leave Grisham and the gang choking on its dust". It does not.

The story starts off slowly and has some unbelievable and contrived elements, but it did eventually grab my attention and even had a few "driveway moments". However, the courtroom scenes are nowhere near as good Connelly, Rotenberg, Grisham or Turow. (Since I’ve read ALL their books, I’m looking for another good legal thriller author—but I haven’t found him/her yet.). However, I will probably give this author one more chance and read/listen to the next book in the series to see if gets any better.I also found the writing a bit sexist--it was obviously written for a male rather than female audience, and this was annoying at times.

The narrator did a good job. There were some anomalies, like the fact that Pat, who grew up in NYC, had an Irish accent and Rudy had a Hispanic accent, although he was born in NYC and grew up in Florida--but the different accents did help keep the characters straight—even if they were a bit stereotypical. (I think if I were a Southerner, I would have found the “bubba” accents offensive.)

Rage Against the Dying

In her hey-day, ex FBI agent, Brigid Quinn, not only worked serial killer cases but became their prize. Small and blond, from a distance she looked vulnerable and slight...the perfect bait to catch a killer. But as Quinn got older, she realised she needed to find a protégé, a younger field agent to take her place. So Quinn trains a 22 year old and lets her loose in the field. The plan works. Until the Route 66 killer not only takes the bait, but kills the bait.

Brigid Quinn will remind you of Kinsey Milhone at 58 (which is about how old she would be about now), the same sacastic look at life, the same wise cracks, the same dislike of children and the same disregard for things like rules, regulations and the law! (The fact that Judy Kaye also reads the Kinsey Milhone books does help with the similarity.)

An enjoyable book, despite some glitches (I lost the thread on how Brigid finally concluded who the killer was and a couple of other times I said to myself, "wait, how did that happen?"), but definitely worth your time--especially if, like me, you are a woman of a certain age and would like to read about a gray-haired woman kicking some serious butt!

Judy Kaye continues to be one of my favorte readers and she does another great job with this book.

Unfamiliar Fishes

In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as crucial to our nation's identity, a year when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded Cuba and then the Philippines, becoming a meddling, self-serving, militaristic international superpower practically overnight. Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intriguing.

Sarah Vowell just speaks to me. We read this for my book club and some members found her "arrogant" or "flippant"-- like those were BAD things??? OK, maybe she is a bit flippant, but that's her charm. I read this book and listened to it TWICE, so maybe I just "got it" and they didn't.

Aside from her irreverant style (which is why love her writing), her books are filled with wonderful historical facts--things you just did not learn in History class! If you find history dry and boring, give one of Sarah Vowell's books a try.

The Partly Cloudy Patriot

Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German Filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration. The result is an engrossing audiobook, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.

Let me admit that I think Sarah Vowell is one of the funniest, wittiest, most intelligent writers around today. This book of short vignettes is an absolute gem. The Swiss (who are very reserved on trains or busses) give me funny looks as I laugh out loud while savoring Sarah Vowell's clever turn-of-phrase. Unfamiliar Fishes is my favorite Vowell book, but this one may usurp Assassination Vacation as my second favorite.

Gone Girl: A Novel

It is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media - as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents - the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter - but is he really a killer?

The two main characters in this book, Amy and Nick Dunne, are pretty unlikeable (Amy's parents aren't much better), BUT don't let that stop you from listening to this riveting story. The "mystery" wasn't that hard to figure out, but I couldn't stop listening--I just had to know waht terrible thing was going to happen next! This isn't a pyshical who-done-it, but a psychological thriller of the best kind. Excellent, edge of your seat writing.

The two narrators also did an excellent job. I think this was one of those books that is better listened to than read.

The Radleys

Meet the Radleys: Peter, Helen and their teenage children, Clara and Rowan, live in a typical suburban English town. They are an everyday family, averagely dysfunctional, averagely content. But, as their children have yet to find out, the Radleys have a devastating secret. In this moving, thrilling and extraordinary portrait of one unusual family, The Radleys asks what we grow into when we grow up, and explores what we gain - and lose - when we deny our appetites.

I heard this book reviewed on a BBC program. Everyone on that show just loved it, so I thought, even though I'm over my (long ago) teenage obsession with vampires, I would give it a try. It did not live up to my expectations.

I liked the premise, your basic middle-class vampires trying to live "normal" lives, but I just didn't care about anyone in this story. If I had been reading it, I would not have finished.

Do not expect "Interview with the Vampire" which is, in my humble opinion, still the best vampire book ever written.

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